Riding In January? OMG!!

Road Cycling“It is by riding a bicycle that you learn the contours of a country best, since you have to sweat up the hills and coast down them. Thus you remember them as they actually are, while in a motor car only a high hill impresses you, and you have no such accurate remembrance of country you have driven through as you gain by riding a bicycle.” -- Ernest Hemingway

GODFREY DANIELS!! The president of the WCC (Winter Chicken Club) went for a ride yesterday and it wasn't even 50 degrees . . . (well, it was darn close, 48.8 F when I left). It was so nice Thursday, 60 degrees, that I promised myself if it was anywhere NEAR that the next day I was going. And I did. I am so proud of myself!! (I'll worry about impeachment for violating the 50 degree rule later. I'll just call it an "investigative ride").

I'm liking this winter, nice and mild. This was a unique experience for me, riding in January. January around these parts is usually a nightmare.

It felt great to be out. Didn't ride far, eleven miles, but it felt like 50. Haven't ridden since early November (can't deal with trainers) so I was way out of shape, huffing and puffing up hills I usually blast through. Nonetheless, being out on the bike was grrrrrrrrreat!!

Not far from the house is this 300+ year old tree. They built a fence and wall around it to protect it from drivers. Obviously we bikers could use the same.

I love this nice, quiet stretch of this ride. It's pretty in the summer.

A gray day, but hey, it's January in the northeast.

Rode down to the Newburgh riverfront on the great Hudson River. That's the Newburgh-Beacon bridge in the distance.

Rode past a frequent warm weather posing spot.

The cockpit.

Pretty much sums up how I felt after my first ride in two months.

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See, this is why we can't have nice things. - - smarkinson

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I've anchored down by that bridge on my Mom's 43' sailboat. Nice spot.

It was in the low 60s here today so I got in a nice 40 mile ride this morning. You gotta love San Diego weather! I just wish the days were longer.

It cracks me up when people try to keep a 300 year old tree alive. They build walls around it, prop it up with cables to try to keep it from falling over and other stupid crap like that. Cut it down, make some nice furniture out of it and plant a new tree there. Nothing lasts forever.

Mild winter here in MN also. This is usually the coldest stretch of the year. Temps in the teens below zero are not uncommon and usually can be counted on. It was 33 today, and we were able to do 42 miles. Supposed to 37 tomorrow!

It's been pretty up and down here in Texas. When I rode Thursday night it was 77.

This morning on the ride into town for my group ride it was 29.

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Got a great ride in this morning after finally deciding to buy some leg and arm warmers. By the time I got started on the right the arm warmers were not even needed. Think the highs got to the mid 60's today and one of the calmer wind days in a while. My Cycling Log shows me at 50+mi for the year though that's a rough estimate since I don't have my cyclometer installed at the moment. Hoping to go out again tomorrow if the wind doesn't get to wild.

40F is 5 degrees celcius! wow...48F isn't that cold dude. Stop sooking and get on the bike. -10 degrees celcius must be painful but often the limit as to when a "serious" cyclist will go for a ride is light not weather even though that can be managed with proper gear. I would much much rather ride in 5 degree celcius than 42 degrees celcius.

40F is 5 degrees celcius! wow...48F isn't that cold dude. Stop sooking and get on the bike. -10 degrees celcius must be painful but often the limit as to when a "serious" cyclist will go for a ride is light not weather even though that can be managed with proper gear. I would much much rather ride in 5 degree celcius than 42 degrees celcius.

What in the hell would some ENGLISH dude know about riding in the cold? Get serious. We're talking the HUDSON VALLEY. You know, 2' snow drifts, sub zero (Farenheit) nights, stretches where it doesn't get above freezing for weeks (that's zero C). We ride through most of it.

But I do draw the line in the future when it drops below 18º or so. And I'm sure the Wisconsin guys will now tell me what a wuss that makes me : ).

Well, I'm getting ready to go on a century and the thermometer reads 48F (35F windchill). Brisk, but it'll warm up to 65F.

This is 20 miles North of Miami, FL USA, so this is about as "Winter" as it gets!

We may be spending five days on Sanibel Island (Gulf Coast) in mid-Feb. I'm not sure my system can handle the shock of going from riding in 25º snowfields to 80º beach roads. But I think I'll manage : ).

I'm more worried about what it will be like upon my RETURN from said trip. Oooffaaa that's gonna suck.

What in the hell would some ENGLISH dude know about riding in the cold? Get serious. We're talking the HUDSON VALLEY. You know, 2' snow drifts, sub zero (Farenheit) nights, stretches where it doesn't get above freezing for weeks (that's zero C). We ride through most of it.

But I do draw the line in the future when it drops below 18º or so. And I'm sure the Wisconsin guys will now tell me what a wuss that makes me : ).

Well the English might know a little bit about riding in the cold, but seeing as the guy you are replying to is Australian it isn't really relevant.

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Well, you Yankees are making me feel like such a wuss. I am sitting here in North Florida dreading going out to lead the club ride this morning in 35 degree F weather. We Floridians freeze to death at room temperature, you know.

Well...it was fun while it lasted. I did 40 miles on Monday (it was in the mid 50s) and planned to do another 40 on Friday (it was in the mid/high 50s again). Unfortunately, we had a dense fog that never lifted on Friday, then it poured yesterday, and now we have quite a bit of snow (probably at least 3 inches) on the ground.

Olebiker is right, we don't know what our northern biker friends endure to ride outside during the winter. I'm pretty much a wimp too and refuse to ride outside if its below 45 degrees or so. But sometimes after a week of riding trainer I will venture out if when its below my cutoff temperature.

Well...it was fun while it lasted. I did 40 miles on Monday (it was in the mid 50s) and planned to do another 40 on Friday (it was in the mid/high 50s again). Unfortunately, we had a dense fog that never lifted on Friday, then it poured yesterday, and now we have quite a bit of snow (probably at least 3 inches) on the ground.

I won't rag on you guys for not ridding in weather below freezing (0C or 32F). But when I was younger and lived closer to work I commuted all but one week (it was below -18C or 0F). Many days I was faster then the cars in the snow back when we had snow most of the winter.